Smoking Buddies
Stillwater Artisanal Ales

 

Served from the can in a mason jar.

2021 version. UHF has been turned down (madness!), Bo Burnham has begun. Far enough, I guess. Anyway, this stuff pours a hazy auburn-brass topped by a finger of lightly off-cream foam. The nose comprises lemon zest, mild grass, light orange zest, and some sweet flowers. The taste brings in more of the same, along with a decent supply of bacon-y smoke, which melds rather well with the citrus-y hops surrounding it. Good times. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, a lovely smoky IPA sort of deal, something I wish I could find more of.

 

cool they are making some of these past beers again this year, this one seems to be a little different though, my can looks totally different than what is pictured here and says its aged on oak not cedar, also listed as a double international pale, not an ipa, so maybe just inspired by the original here, rather than a true replica. still, its delicious beer, i love smoked beer, and there is a ton of character in this. its odd how the freshness of the hops accent what is a relatively subtle smoke profile, it seems curious that those elements are so synergistic, but they are. this is super pale, murky, and insanely dense from the pint can, a light peach toned color with all the viscosity in the world and a frothy inch of white head. rarely am i a fan of beers like pales and pils types being imperialized for the sake of it, but this being stronger and bigger makes sense, its needed to support all this flavor, the grain body makes it hand on the palate and the little alcohol warmth slows me down enough to let this come up to temperature where its really at its best, the size serves a purpose, its not just for the booze. the smoke is pretty mild, the climax of the flavor is the finish, the hops hit amazingly well with the smoke, and there is a light perfume element that could be confused with cedar perhaps, but for me its the hops bringing that aspect. some bitterness and some outward yeastiness here too, smooth and creamy texture with plenty of carbonation, and a clean finish for what it is. really tasty in this form, wish i got to try the earlier one with the cedar too. this has some tired hands character obvious in it too, cool collaboration and delicious beer overall!

 

 

 

 

Really liked this beer got a stronger smoke flavor and the foam that I was sipping first and when I actually taste the beer it was a pretty decent IPA well balanced with that great smoke element in the finish. Overall a great experimental IPA that I appreciate finding in the zoo of just hazy and normal ipas.

A: The beer is slightly hazy yellow in color and has some hues of amber along with a light to moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that gradually died down, leaving delicate lacing covering the surface and a narrow collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light aromas of fruity and citrusy hops are present in the nose.
T: The taste has stronger flavors of citrusy hops - oranges and grapefruit seem to stand out in particular - along with hints of smoke and cedar, the latter of which is most noticeable in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a bit crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is first and foremost an IPA but the smoked cedar lends an interesting twist to the taste.

Serving type: on-tap

 

 

 

From the can, it pours a hazy golden orange color. A finger length frothy white head displays good retention. There is lacing throughout.

The aroma opens like a typical IPA with notes of fruity hops, specifically tropical and stone fruit. These include peach, apricot, mango and pineapple, along with hints of lemon and kiwi. I don’t immediately detect the smoke, however, as a moderate amount amount of herbaceous and dank aromas develop, I begin to notice the notes of cedar wood.

The flavor profile is very tasty and reminds me of a classic DIPA. Juicy tropical and stone fruit flavors align with the aroma and balance well with a firm sweet doughy and caramel malt backbone. There is lots of herbaceous dank, grassy, piney and resiny flavors along with a solid bitterness. Additional flavors of grapefruit and lime add a zesty spice. More so than the aroma, the smoke cedar adds a nice woody spice particularly to the finish. The finish has a nice mouth puckering dryness to it.

Medium bodied with a mellow carbonation. The mouthfeel is smooth overall with a bit of stickiness.

This was a really fun and tasty DIPA. The smoky element added an excellent and unique touch.

 

Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Slightly hazy, but mostly cleared pale amber body color, a little bit of orange to it as well. Fluffy creamy good large fine even head with lots of ring lacing and clumps. Classic looking IPA.

Man this aroma is exceptional. Big hits of earthy hop, with a touch of cedar woods on the nose. Lovely touch of woody spice and hop angle that goes to more fruit tangerine and tropical notes. Reminds me of a lot of Cigar City cedar beers… This is really nice.

Wooah is this beer on the palate something special. There's just about everything perfectly going on. Wonderful woody spiced cedar mixing with a sweet rich malt orange and citrus backbone. Excellent finish of wood and hop bitterness that’s like smoking a hop cigar. A supper mix of excellent sweetness and wonderful smoke to go with it in flavor also, that even goes into black pepper heat.

Man has this been put together nicely. Excellent brew, definitely loving the wood angle on this, which may not be for everyone.

 

 

 

Not sure about the smokiness of this beer. In a blind test, I would assume it is one of Alchemist double IPAs. An almost perfect mix of hoppy bitterness, fresh hops, and deceiving lightness.